Hermitage Capital Management, the $1.2bn hedge fund firm run by William Browder, said Russian authorities are seeking the arrest of Ivan Cherkasov, a Hermitage partner in London.

Cherkasov, a 42-year-old Russian national, was named on March 5 in a decree seeking his arrest, Hermitage said in a statement today. Russian Interior Ministry officials visited Cherkasovâ??s former home in Moscow seeking his arrest on March 24, the company said. While Cherkasov has worked from London since 2006, a Russian domestic arrest warrant would be the first step in trying to extradite him from the U.K.